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A devotional evening

After a long time literally, there was an opportunity to listen to a spiritual discourse at the temple today. Remembering the halcyon school days we were exposed to lot of Vedanta and Spiritual treatise, it was after a long time I was listening to glories of the Lord of course in pure chaste Malayalam.

It was Narayaneeyam Sapthaham going on. It was simple a delight to listen to the glories of my sweet Lord who celebrated his birthday just two days before. Of course even swine flu could not deter the celebrations. (never mind the devotees had N95 masks)

There was a beautiful part on Friendship that of Krishna and Kushela, it is said to be a meeting after almost 70 years. It was so wonderful the meeting and the after math. Kuchela walks back empty handed his heart full of joy at having met his beloved friend only to see his hutment transformed to a palace. God gives you what you want – his wife wanted material comfort not to be denied, the Lord actually does it without his friend’s knowledge.

Then there was this advent of Kali episode, when it transported me to my spiritual or ISKCON theatre days. I vividly remember that as Parikshit Maharaj, the last ruler of Bharat in Dwapara Yuga, does all in his command to stop Kali from being the next ruler.

Parikshit, incidentally is the son of Abhimanyu and Uttara, son of Arjuna and daughter of Krishna respectively. His name when translated reads the one who is tested. It is because of him that we have something called Bhagavatham.

So the last few days of Dwapara Yuga had set in and Parikshit goes on a hunting trip to the forests. He becomes thirsty and looks for a hermitage or a river nearby. He walks a few minutes to reach one hermitage. A sage was in his meditation. Parikshit goes and prostrates before him and says he needs some water to quench his thirst.

He requests the same to the sage almost three to four times, the sage being in deep meditation does not hear any of these utterances.

In a fit of rage, so unlikely that of Parikshit, he caught hold of a snake passing nearby and garlands the sage as he felt insulted. He leaves the place.

On the way back he sees a black man ready to cut the limbs of a cow. He rushes there and asks the man to stop only to find that he is Kali – the ruler of Kali Yuga. So Parikshit in a fit of rage takes the sword but Kali surrenders to Parikshit and requests him to leave him so that the Time goes as planned. Parikshit reluctantly lets him stay at four places – Slaughter Houses, Prostitution, Gambling and alcohol bars. One more place Kalki request is Gold. Parikshit accepts that being tricked to the fact that he was wearing a gold crown.

It was going through my mind as the discourse went on to discuss the means to invoke him during this Kali Yuga…

So he is still in control….except for few people who try to befriend the Lord.